Bill Text: CT SB00266 | 2012 | General Assembly | Introduced

Connecticut Senate Bill 266 (Prior Session Legislation)

Introduced

Bill Title: An Act Authorizing The Inclusion Of Nurseries And Greenhouses In Farmland Preservation Programs.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-02-27 - Referred to Joint Committee on Environment [SB00266 Detail]

Download: Connecticut-2012-SB00266-Introduced.html


General Assembly		*Raised Bill No. 266*
*February Session, 2012*		LCO No. 246
		00246_______ENV
Referred to Committee on Environment
Introduced by:
(ENV)

AN ACT AUTHORIZING THE INCLUSION OF NURSERIES AND GREENHOUSES IN FARMLAND PRESERVATION PROGRAMS.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:

Section 1. Section 22-26bb of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2012):

As used in this chapter:

(a) "Agricultural land" means any land in the state suitable by reference to soil types, existing and past use of such land for agricultural purposes and other relevant factors for the cultivation of plants for production of human food and fiber or production of other useful and valuable plant products and for the production of animals, livestock and poultry useful to man and the environment, and land capable of providing economically profitable farm units, and may include adjacent pastures, wooded land, natural drainage areas and other adjacent open areas. "Agricultural land" includes, but is not limited to, nurseries, as described in section 22-97 and greenhouses;

(b) "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Agriculture;

(d) "Development rights" means the rights of the fee simple owner of agricultural land to develop, construct on, sell, lease or otherwise improve the agricultural land for uses that result in rendering such land no longer agricultural land, but shall not be construed to include: (1) The uses defined in subsection (q) of section 1-1, (2) the rights of the fee owner of agricultural land to develop, construct on, sell, give or transfer in any way the property in its entirety, lease the property for a term of less than twenty-five years or otherwise improve the agricultural land to preserve, maintain, operate or continue such land as agricultural land, including but not limited to construction thereon of residences for persons directly incidental to farm operation and buildings for animals, roadside stands and farm markets for sale to the consumer of food products and ornamental plants, facilities for the storing of equipment and products or processing thereof or such other improvements, activities and uses thereon as may be directly or incidentally related to the operation of the agricultural enterprise, as long as the acreage and productivity of arable land for crops is not materially decreased and due consideration is given to the impact of any decrease in acreage or productivity of such arable land upon the total farm operation, except that new construction or modification of an existing farm building necessary to the operation of a farm on prime farmland, as defined by the United States Department of Agriculture, of which the state has purchased development rights shall be limited to not more than five per cent of the total of such prime farmland, (3) the rights of the fee owner to provide for the extraction of gravel or like natural elements to be used on the farm for purposes directly or incidentally related to the operation of the agricultural enterprise, or (4) the existing water and mineral rights, exclusive of gravel, of the fee owner;

(e) "Owner" means any person, corporation, limited liability company, partnership, trust, municipal corporation, public utility or any other private or public entity that shall be the fee simple owner of agricultural land or who shall by operation of law have the power to exercise the rights of a fee simple owner;

(f) "Municipality" means any city, town, borough, district, or association with municipal powers;

(g) "Prime farmland" means soils defined by the United States Department of Agriculture as the best suited to producing food, feed, forage, fiber and oilseed crops;

(h) "Restricted agricultural land" means land and the improvements thereon for which development rights are held by the state of Connecticut;

(i) "Restriction" means the encumbrance on development uses placed on restricted lands as a result of the acquisition of development rights by the state of Connecticut;

(j) "Residences" means single-family residential dwellings and any associated on-site septic disposal system or potable well;

(k) "Building" means (1) any permanent structure used for holding animals, (2) roadside stands and farm markets for sale to the consumer of food products and ornamental plants, (3) facilities for the storing of equipment and products or the processing of products, and (4) animal waste storage facilities;

(l) "Arable land" means land currently used for the production of crops or pasture and land considered prime and important farmland soil by the United States Department of Agriculture;

(m) "Gravel or like natural elements" means rounded or angular fragments of rock and associated soil material;

(n) "Economically profitable farm unit" means an acreage of arable land capable of producing a sustained annual gross income of significant value as determined by the commissioner;

(o) "The property in its entirety" means the entire acreage of restricted land without division or subdivision;

(p) "Persons directly incidental to the farm operation" means any person who participates in the farm operation on the restricted land on a full-time basis and any owner of the restricted land regardless of whether or not he participates in the farm operation on a full-time basis.

Sec. 2. Subsection (a) of section 22-26cc of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2012):

(a) There is established within the Department of Agriculture a program to solicit, from owners of agricultural land, offers to sell the development rights to such land and to inform the public of the purposes, goals and provisions of this chapter. The commissioner, with the approval of the State Properties Review Board, shall have the power to acquire or accept as a gift, on behalf of the state, the development rights of any agricultural land, if offered by the owner. Notice of the offer shall be filed in the land records wherein the agricultural land is situated. If ownership of any land for which development rights have been offered is transferred, the offer shall be effective until the subsequent owner revokes the offer in writing. The state conservation and development plan established pursuant to section 16a-24 shall be applied as an advisory document to the acquisition of development rights of any agricultural lands. The factors to be considered by the commissioner in deciding whether or not to acquire such rights shall include, but not be limited to, the following: (1) The probability that the land will be sold for nonagricultural purposes; (2) the current productivity of such land and the likelihood of continued productivity; (3) the suitability of the land as to soil classification and other criteria for agricultural use; (4) the degree to which such acquisition would contribute to the preservation of the agricultural potential of the state; (5) any encumbrances on such land; (6) the cost of acquiring such rights; and (7) the degree to which such acquisition would mitigate damage due to flood hazards. Ownership by a nonprofit organization authorized to hold land for conservation and preservation purposes of land which prior to such ownership qualified for the program established pursuant to this section shall not be deemed to diminish the probability that the land will be sold for nonagricultural purposes. After a preliminary evaluation of such factors by the Commissioner of Agriculture, he shall obtain and review one or more fee appraisals of the property selected in order to determine the value of the development rights of such property. The commissioner shall notify the Department of Transportation, the Department of Economic and Community Development, the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and the Office of Policy and Management that such property is being appraised. Any appraisal of the value of such land obtained by the owner and performed in a manner approved by the commissioner shall be considered by the commissioner in making such determination. The value of development rights for all purposes of this section shall be the difference between the value of the property for its highest and best use and its value for agricultural purposes as determined by the commissioner. The use or presence of pollutants or chemicals in the soil shall not be deemed to diminish the agricultural value of the land or to prohibit the commissioner from acquiring the development rights to such land. The use of the land as a nursery or greenhouse shall not be deemed to diminish the agricultural value of the land or to prohibit the commissioner from acquiring the development rights to such land. The commissioner may purchase development rights for a lesser amount provided he complies with all factors for acquisition specified in this subsection and in any implementing regulations. In determining the value of the property for its highest and best use, consideration shall be given but not limited to sales of comparable properties in the general area, use of which was unrestricted at the time of sale.


This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1	October 1, 2012	22-26bb
Sec. 2	October 1, 2012	22-26cc(a)

Statement of Purpose:

To specifically authorize the inclusion of nurseries and greenhouses in the Department of Agriculture's farmland preservation programs.

[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]